Golfer&#39;s arm positioning device comprising elbow bend restraining means



Dec. 31, 1968 c. a. MARTIN 3,

GOLFER'S ARM POSITIONING DEVICE COMPRISING ELBOW BEND RESTRAINING MEANSFiled May 31. 1966 INVENTOR. CLARENCE- B. MARTIN TIM-66M M d muiATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,419,277 GOLFERS ARR I POSITIONINGDEVICE COMPRIS- ING ELBOW BEND RESTRAINING MEANS Clarence B. Martin,P.(). Box 8277, Greenville, S.C. 29604 Filed May 31, 1966, Ser. No.553,958 8 Claims. (Cl. 273-189) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device forguiding the leading arm of a golfer during the backswing portion of aclub swing, in order to assure that proper coordination is obtained.Restraint is imposed against bending of the leading arm at the elbowupon the leading arm reaching the top of the backswing, while the elbowis free to bend during a normal follow-through. Movement of the leadingarm against the torso in a rearward direction is restrained in order toassure coordination of a turning movement of the torso with movement ofthe leading arm.

For purposes of this application and discussion of my invention, the useof the term leading arm of the golfer refers to that arm which is theforward arm of the golfer along the intended direction of travel of thegolf ball, i.e. a right-handed golfers left arm and a left-handedgolfers right arm.

Maximum power in hitting a golf ball is obtained where there is propercoordination of a turning movement of the torso of the golfer, andparticularly the shoulders, with movement of the golfers arms during thebackswing and downswing. Additionally, accuracy and power require thatthe leading arm of the golfer be maintained in an extended position atthe address of the ball, during the initial movement from address intothe backswing, and throughout the backswing and downswing, in order toestablish and maintain a correct swing plane and a maximum radius forthe path of travel of the clubhead.

Heretofore, golfers attempting to master this technique have encountereddifficulties in coordinating the actions required, as reflected by thepoor shots characterizing a dulfer. Principal difiiculties have beenproper coordination of the turning movement of the shoulders and torso,and distortions of the swing plane and clubhead path introduced as aresult of bending the elbow of the leading arm at the top of thebackswing.

In attempts to assist golfers in overcoming such diificulties, varioustraning aids have heretofore been proposed. Certain of these trainingaids rigidly encircle the elbow of the leading arm, to preclude anybending movement of the elbow at any time. Other devices, in the form ofharnesses, rigidly secure the leading arm of the golfer against anylateral movement with respect to the shoulders of the golfer.

Such training aids are of little assistance in overcoming theaforementioned difiiculties, inasmuch as the aids themselves introducedistortions in the golfers action due to the restraints imposed. Moreparticularly, the restraint of the elbow of the leading arm from anybending movement and the restraint of the leading arm from any lateralmovement with respect to the shoulders, while possibly assuring anapproximately correct position at one point in a golf swing, entirelyprohibit the movements necessary at certain stages of a natural andcorrect swing and followthrough, during which lateral movement of thearm with respect to the shoulders and bending of the elbow is required.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a controlor training device to be worn by a golfer which positions the leadingarm of the golfer during the backswing so that the golf club is inposition to describe the proper are for contact with the ball butpermits free movement of the leading arm during the downswing, contactwith the ball, and follow-through to overcome the disadvantages of priortraining aids.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a trainingdevice to be worn by the golfer which properly positions the hands ofthe golfer with respect to the torso during address of the golf ballprior to the commencement of the golf swing.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 includes a front and side view of a golfer wearing the trainingdevice of the present invention and in position of address of a golfball prior to commencement of the golf swing;

FIGURE 2 is a front and side view of a golfer showing the position ofthe golfers leading arm at the top of the backswing and the position ofthe training device at that point of the swing;

FIGURE 3 is a back view of a golfer showing the position of the golfersbody and arms at the top of the followthrough and the position of thetraining device at that point of the swing;

FIGURE 4 is a partial close-up view of a golfer in position of addressas seen in FIGURE 1 and showing the details of the training device ofthe present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the golf training device worn by thegolfers in FIGURES 1 through 4 and forming the subject matter of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 6 is a partial cross-section of the device seen in FIGURE 5 takenalong line 66 thereof; and

FIGURE 7 is a partial view of the device seen in FIG- URE 5 showing thedetails of the arm encircling band member of the device.

With reference to the drawings, the golf training device is showndesigned for a right-handed golfer and is worn about the left shoulderof the golfer. It is to be understood that a left-handed golfer would beprovided with the reverse of the structure shown in the drawings.

The training device consists of a harness 11 which has chest and backplates 12 and 13 constructed of suitable lightweight material such asmolded plastic or aluminum. The plates are shaped to conform to theshoulder of the wearer and their undersides are provided with a cushionmaterial 14, such as plastic foam or rubber, to provide for the comfortof the wearer. To facilitate donning the harness, the two plates 12 and13 are preferably pivotally connected along the shoulder line by a hinge15 and a torso encircling belt 16 secures the lower part of the platesabout the golfers rib cage.

Supported by and extending from the chest plate 12 of the harness 11 isan elongate member 17 consisting of a pair of fiat plates 17:: and 17bwhich are longitudinally adjustable by wing nuts and bolts 18 whichengage mating apertures in the adjoining ends of the plates.

Located on the outer portion of plate 17b is an arm band 21 which iscomposed of a flexible material, such as molded polyethylene, which issecured to plate 17b by suitable fastening means, such as a rivet, andmay be adjustably secured about the upper portion of the golfers leadingarm by a pair of cooperating friction-gripping surfaces 23-, 24 locatedon opposing faces of the overlapping ends of the band 21. The frictionsurfaces 23, 24 may be of the type material and construction asdisclosed in US. Patent 2,717,437.

As seen in FIGURE 7, the arm band 21 may be circumferentially adjustedto provide proper contact with the upper portion of the leading arm ofthe golfer.

The elongate member 17 is attached to the chest plate 12 of the harness11 by a hinged member 31, one leaf of which, 3111, is secured to thechest plate and the other leaf of which, 31b, is pivotally secured tothe elongate member 17 by a bolt or rivet 32 (FIGURE 6). The hingedmember 31 permits pivotal movement of the elongate member 17 in twodirections, one substantially longitudinally of the torso of the wearer(FIGURE 4) and the other substantially laterally of the torso of thewearer.

Extending outwardly from leaf 31a of the hinged member is a stop arm 35(FIGURE 6), which contacts leaf 31b at a point of pivotal movement ofthe member 17 to limit lateral movement of the member with respect tothe harness chest plate 12. The contacting face 35a of the stop armpreferably is beveled at an angle approximately 15 degrees to a linenormal to the face of the chest plate 12, which properly positions thearm of the golfer, as will be explained.

The lower edge of plate 17a is provided with a tab 41 which extends at aright angle thereto and is so positioned that the tab 41 contacts thechest portion of the harness to limit the downward longitudinal movementof the elongate member with respect to the torso of the wearer.

The golfers movements which are controlled by the training device maybest be described by reference to FIGURES 1-4 which show the devicebeing worn by a golfer and the position of the various elements of thedevice at different points in the golfers swing. When the golfer assumesthe position of address of the ball (FIG- URES 1 and 4), the tab 41 ofthe elongate member rests against the chest plate 12 of the harness 11and prevents the leading arm from moving further downward with respectto the torso of the golfer. By limiting the downward movement of theleading arm in this manner, the golfers hands, in gripping the golfclub, are positioned so that the golfers body is the proper distancefrom the ball during address. Although the angle at which the elongatemember 17 and tab 41 contact the chest plate 12 may vary, it has beenfound that an angle of approximately 30 degrees between plate 12 and thelongitudinal axis or the elongate member 17 properly positions theaverage size golfer with respect to the golf ball.

As the golfer begins his backswing, the elongate member 17 contacts stoparm 35 and prevents lateral movement of the golfers leading arm beyond apoint approximately 15 degrees past the midline of the torso of thegolfer, which point has been found to be the most comfortable to theaverage golfer and still produce the desired arc of swing of the golfersarms to bring the club head into contact with the ball.

As the "golfer continues the backswing (FIGURE 2), the torso or upperportion of the body is thus properly rotated to bring the hands and armsto the correct position at the top of the backswing.

The training device provides another important control feature. As seenin FIGURE 4, the elongate member 17 lies along the inner side of theupper portion of the leading arm with the arm band 21 positioned, byadjusting the length of the elongate member 17, to encircle the upperarm at a point just above the elbow. When the golfer moves to the top ofthe backswing (FIGURE 2) the arm band 21 moves relative to the leadingarm to a position over the elbow. In this location the elbow iseffectively locked to substantially prevent relative movement betweenthe lower and upper portions of the arm, thus preventing premature breakof theelbow before the golfers hands are brought into the downswing.

As the downswing begins, the leading arm moves in the swing plane withthe clubhead following the preferred path of travel toward the ball, andthe arm band 21 maintains the left arm substantially in the extendedposition. As the clubhead travels through the location of impact withthe golf ball, the arm band 21 moves relative to the leading arm to aposition encircling the upper portion of the arm and frees the elbow formovement. At the same time the leading arm is guided in movement towardthe target by the hinge member 31, and subsequent to impact, guided intoa proper follow-through due to the cooperation of the lateral andlongitudinal pivotal actions.

It is believed apparent from the discussion above that my inventionprovides a golf training device which effectively guides the leading armof a golfer through movements which are properly coordinated with otherportions of the golfers body to obtain a preferred golfing technique,without imposing unnecessary restraints which would distort thenecessary action of the golfers body.

In the drawings and specification there have been set forth preferredembodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

I claim:

1. A device for controlling the position of the leading arm of a golferrelative to his torso during the backswing portion of a club swing andcomprising:

a chest plate,

means for securing said chest plate to the upper part of a golferstorso,

a rigid elongated member adapted to be positioned along the inner sideof the upper part of the golfers leading arm,

means for securing one end of said elognated member to the golfers arm,

pivotal means for pivotally coupling the other end of said elongatedmember to said chest plate so that said elongated member may be movedrelative to said chest plate only about first and second substantiallyperpendicular related pivotal axes, said first pivotal axis permittingmovement of said elongated member substantially longitudinally of thegolfers torso and said second pivotal axis permitting movement of saidelongated member laterally of the golfers torso, and

stop means for restricting the extent of permissable lateral movement ofsaid elongate member about said second pivotal axis.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said means for securing saidchest plate to the upper part of the golfers torso comprises a harnessincluding a belt fastened to said chest plate and adapted to encirclethe golfers chest.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein said means for securing saidelongated member to the golfers leading arm comprises a circular bandmounted on said elongate member and adapted to loosely encircle thegolfers leading arm.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein said arm band has apredetermined width and is mounted on said elongated member at adistance from said pivotal axes so that said arm band is adapted toloosely encircle the upper portion of the leading arm of the golferwhile the golfer is in the position of address to a golf ball and to bedisplaced along the leading arm to a position encircling the elbow jointof the leading arm as that arm moves rearwardly and laterally across thegolfers torso during a backswing, said arm band functioning uponencircling the elbow joint to restrain bending of the golfers leadingarm at the elbow.

5. A device according to claim 1 and further comprising stop means forrestricting the extent of permissible longitudinal movement of saidelongated member about said first pivotal taxis to thereby limit theextent to which the upper portion of the golfers leading arm may belowered upon the golfer assuming the position of address to a golf ball.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein said longitudinal movementrestricting means comprises a projecting 5 tab on said elongated memberpositioned for engaging said chest plate.

7. A device vaccording to claim 1 wherein said pivotal means comprises afirst leaf member secured to said chest plate and a second leaf memberhingedly connected to said first leaf member and to said other end ofsaid elongated member and further wherein said lateral move mentrestricting means comprises a block disposed between said leaf membersfor restricting the extent of relative movement permitted therebetween.

8. A device for controlling the position of the leading arm of a golferrelative to his torso during the backswing portion of a club swing andcomprising:

a rigid elongated member having a length corresponding to that requiredto extend from a point adjacent the shoulder joint of a golfers leadingarm to a point adjacent the elbow joint thereof,

means for mounting said elongated member in position along the leadingarm including pivotal means secured to said elongated member at one endthereof 20 and adapted to be mounted on the torso of a golfer adjacentthe shoulder joint of the golfers leading arm for permitting pivotalmovement of said elongated member relative to the golfers torso aboutfirst and second substantially perpendicularly related pivotal axes,said first and second pivotal axes respectively permitting movement ofsaid elongated member longitudinally and laterally of the golfers torsoand,

an arm encircling band of predetermined width mounted on said elongatedmember at a predetermined distance from said one end and adapted to besecured loosely encircling the leading arm of the golfer, saidpredetermined width and distance being such that said band is adapted toencircle the upper portion of the golfers leading arm while the golferis in the position of address to a golf ball and to be displaced alongthe leading arm to a position encircling the elbow joint of the leadingarm as that arm moves rearwardly and laterally across the golfers torsoduring a backswing, said arm encircling band functioning whileencircling the elbow joint to restrain bending movement thereof.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

25 GEORGE J. MARLO, Assistant Examiner.

